Jade L'Opera JADE Rosin for Violin, Viola, and Cello

My suggestions to parents who have kids who play violin: 1. as they get older, get them a good quality instrument. Rent one, don't buy one - the rentals are so much better quality than what you'd probably budget for. I am currently renting a better-quality instrument than I played as a teen - as a child I guess it doesn't matter, but as I got older, a better instrument would have been nice. 2. get them a good quality rosin. As an adult I have come to appreciate spending alittle more money for things that are worth it - and this rosin is one of them...to a certain point. I got tis exact rosin for $10.86 and although that is about 10x more than I'd have ever expected to pay for rosin, I think the results are well-worth it. (although after I posted my raving review the price hovered at $16-$17 for it, which i think is HORRIBLE. I'm morally opposed to buying more of this rosin until the prices goes back down!!!! 3. get them a couple private lessons from a teacher who cares. and believes in them. This is why I like this rosin: 1. The higher quality makes the bow stick better to the strings 2. overall it helped produce a nicer tone ( I changed just the rosin, not the violin. I used the regular free rosin that the rental company gave me for a little while, then decided to try this rosin. so only the rosin has changed, not the quality of the violin) However: 1. It does give off a lot of dust - i don't know if this amount is typical of higher-quality rosins, but I find myself cleaning more off my strings and violin at the end of my sessions now. 2. I do find that it wears off surprisingly quickly. Let's say I practice a little over an hour, I might re-apply once or twice. I can't remember that clearly but I think when I was younger and playing in the orchestra, I don't know that I even re-applied the rosin during a performance, which would be about that same amount of time. But 1)maybe my memory fails me and 2) maybe the lesser the quailty rosin the more it sticks to the bow and not the strings or 3) maybe I was just not that into playing that I didn't care enough to re-apply. Overall: This rosin impressed me. I really think it changed the sound that was coming out of the instrument. It inspired me to start recording myself and send to my parents, who were thrilled that all those years of pestering me to 'practice my violin' have finally come to fruition.

Jade and its sibling brand Millant-Deroux are made by the French company Colophane. I have used a lot of rosins in 50 years of playing, including all the expensive exotic rosins, and I keep coming back to these. Jade is the hard rosin for warm weather and higher humidity. Millant is dark and softer, so best used in colder, drier weather. It's not very soft though so you can use Millant year round particularly if you are in air-conditioning in the summer. On your bow, Millant is a little grippier, so if you have a scratchy bow technique, you might prefer Jade. I think it's good to own both and switch back and forth. Don't be fooled by the reasonable price -- they are both really excellent and manufactured very consistently. I also appreciate the packaging. You can pay twice as much for Andrea Solo or Piacere but the package doesn't protect the rosin -- if you drop it from even a short distance you get a little box of rosin shards (you can re-melt it and re-form it, by the way, but it's a hassle). Other rosins come with a cake glued to fabric but the glue wears out and there's no easy way to re-attach. Jade and Millant come in pretty decent plastic case wrapped in fabric that is securely attached to the cake. In my experience it lasts for years and doesn't give you trouble. I play every day, often multiple times a day so the packaging is actually quite important. I don't need any drama with rosin. I just need it to work and not shatter if I drop it.

I have long been a fan of D'Addario strings, so when it came time to buy rosin I chose their Kaplan rosin. But over the past few months I just haven't been getting the sound I wanted out of my 2-string electric cello, and was wondering if my carbon fiber bow somehow had poor quality strings. (Yeah, a paradox eh?) I stumbled across Jade rosin while surfing the Net, so looked it up on Amazon, asked some questions, read reviews, ordered a cake, just got it today. From the VERY FIRST application on my bow the sound difference was considerable. The Jade rosin gripped the strings far better than the Kaplan, produced less dust, and left no doubt that both of my bows are just fine. As decent as the Kaplan is, it's not near the quality of Jade. After reading reviews across the Net and my initial experience, I am sold on this stuff. The bow action and resulting sound is audibly superior. And I have to admit I do like the dark green jade color. Icing on the cake. (Pun not intended... but I'm leaving it anyway.) ;D

This is a quality product. I thought the rosin was just the right viscosity; not so hard that you have to score it or scratch it up and not soft or gooey. I love not having to scratch up rosin to apply it and it glides on perfectly to my bow. (I do recommend rotating it between swipes so you don't create a groove.) I would be obliged to give it five stars but it was a little pricey for rosin even though it is great (not "change your life" great but a high-quality product). I also think the packaging should be reconsidered. The cloth the rosin is stuck too is nice but the clear plastic container that holds it and the lid feel a little cheap. After all, this is something that will last you a long time and I definitely feel the case will crack before I've used this product up. I would have preferred a thicker, opaque, one-piece container with the lid attached (like a snap-on lid). All-in-all a great product. I would consider purchasing again in the future but would be highly swayed to a "definitely purchase" if the price and packaging could be improved.